Why i'm grateful...

... to those who gave their all so we could be free:

"Mom, at church today, this lady came up and wanted to pray for me," Little Girl announced Sunday evening.

That's nice, i noted, as i washed the pots from supper.

"Well, it would have been, and I'm grateful for the prayer, but she insisted on getting right up close to me and her head was right next to mine," she continued.


Knowing that she isn't a very tactile, hug type person, i said that i must have been a bit uncomfortable for her.


"Yes, well, the worst of it was that she had really bad breath.  And she prayed for about two minutes, and I can't hold my breath that long!"


Thank you to all who have made the sacrifice of serving in the military, and to the families of those who died in wars.  Thanks to you, my daughter can go to church openly where people can be free to pray for her, even if they do have bad breath.



Today is

Armed Forces Day -- Croatia

Cape May Music Festival -- Cape May, NJ, US (through June 14; world class music performances of many genres)

Contemplate Your Vicissitudes Day -- no, i still don't know who thinks up this stuff

Day of Pin-Hiding and Button-Losing -- Fairy Calendar

Downfall of the Dergue Day/National Day -- Ethiopia

Feast day of Ragnar Lodbrok -- Norse Pagans (modern celebration of the Viking hero; even if he didn't exist -- which may be -- pass the mead horn!)

Flag Day -- Philippines

Memorial Day -- US and Territories

National Brisket Day

National Hamburger Day

National Heroes Day -- Turks and Caicos Islands

Prayer for Peace, Memorial Day -- US (on observed Memorial Day, an encouragement to pray for permanent peace in the world)

Republic Day -- Armenia; Azerbaijan; Nepal

Sierra Club Day -- founded this day in 1892

Slugs Return From Capistrano Day -- where they spent the winter, so don't go out on the patio barefoot until the first frost; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

St. Bernard of Montjoux's Day (Patron of mountainclimbers, skiers; founder of Alpine hospices)

Sukka Tansin Il -- South Korea (Buddha Day)

Whit Monday -- Belgium; England; Germany; Iceland; Ireland; Sweden; The Netherlands; Wales; related observances:
     Gloucestershire Cheese Rolling -- Cooper’s Hill, England (ancient tradition -- pre-Roman -- of rolling large wheels of cheese down the hill; winner of the races wins the cheese)
     Tetbury Woolsack Races -- Gumstool Hill, Tetbury, England (this formerly important wool producing town still holds races up and down the hill, from the Royal Oak Pub up to the Crown Pub and back; part of traditional Whitsuntide folklore customs)


World Hepatitis Day


Birthdays Today:

Joseph Cross, 1986
Jesse Bradford, 1979
Sicily Yoder, 1969
Kylie Minogue, 1968
Glen Rice, 1967
John Fogerty, 1945
Rudolph Guiliani, 1944
Gladys Knight, 1944
Annette, Cecile, Emilie, Marie, and Yvonne Dionne , 1934
Carroll Baker, 1931
Ian Fleming, 1908
Jim Thorpe, 1888


Today in History:

A solar eclipse occurs, as predicted by Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes is battling Cyaxares in the Battle of the Eclipse;this leads to a truce and becomes one of the cardinal dates from which other dates can be calculated, BC585
James IV of Scotland and Margaret Tudor are married according to a Papal Bull by Pope Alexander VI and a Treaty of Everlasting Peace (which lasted 10 years) between Scotland and England is signed, 1503
The Spanish Armada, with 130 ships and 30,000 men, sets sail from Lisbon heading for the English Channel (it will takes until May 30 for all of the ships to leave port), 1588
In the first engagement of the French and Indian War, Virginia militia under 22-year-old Lieutenant Colonel George Washington defeat a French reconnaissance party, 1754
Big Ben is drawn on a carriage pulled by 16 horses from Whitechapel Bell Foundry to the Palace of Westminster, 1859
In San Francisco, California, John Muir organizes the Sierra Club, 1892
In the Russo-Japanese War, the Battle of Tsushima ends with the destruction of the Russian Baltic Fleet by the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1905
John B Gruelle patents Raggedy Ann doll, 1915
The US Attorney General says it is legal for women to wear trousers, 1923
The first all color talking picture, "On With the Show", is shown in NYC, 1929
The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California, is officially opened, 1937
Neville Chamberlain becomes British Prime Minister, 1937
The women of Greece are given the right to vote, 1952
The Palestine Liberation Organization is formed, 1964
Fifteen West African countries sign the Treaty of Lagos, creating the Economic Community of West African States, 1975
Eritrea and Monaco join the United Nations, 1993
NATO declares Russia a limited partner in the Western alliance, 2002
The Mars Odyssey finds signs of large ice deposits on the planet Mars, 2002
The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly of Nepal formally declares Nepal a republic, ending the 240-year reign of the Shah dynasty, 2008